NATIONALISTS WIN TAIWAN ELECTIONS

By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF,

Published: December 22, 1991

TAIPEI, Taiwan, Dec. 21—
The governing Nationalist Party won a major victory today in Taiwan's first full election in more than four decades, as voters appeared to rebuff opposition calls for a declaration of independence from China.

Communist leaders in Beijing, who had been intensely concerned about the election and had warned that they would attack if Taiwan declared its independence, are expected to be as relieved as their adversaries in the Nationalist Party, or Kuomintang.

The election, a milestone in the political restructuring of Taiwan, means that the Kuomintang will have the votes it needs to control a Parliament that will convene in March to revise the constitution and perhaps ordain a new system of government.

The Nationalists won 71 percent of the vote, on the high side of expectations. The main opposition group, the Democratic Progressive Party, which advocates independence, received 24 percent of the vote, well below its goal and also below its performance in national elections in 1989. Two-Party System Seen

The rest of the votes were cast for smaller parties, but these groups did so poorly that Taiwan seems likely to continue as a two-party rather than a multi-party political system.

"We're very pleased that we've been endorsed by the electorate, in that they want stability and development," Jason C. Hu, the chief Government spokesman, said tonight. "I hope that we can put aside the issue of reunification and independence and build up the country. The voters have seen no need to push an extremist position that may put us in danger."

Both the Nationalists here and the Communists in Beijing insist that Taiwan is an inseparable part of China, although each claims sovereignty over the other part. Taiwan formally calls itself the Republic of China, but the Democratic Progressive Party campaigned for a constitutional conference to formally decree the birth of a new "Republic of Taiwan" that would be fully independent of China and would apply for membership in the United Nations as a new country. Looking to Next Election

The Democratic Progressives, at least initially, did not appear subdued by the election results.

"We think that Taiwan independence will still be an issue and that we can do better in the next election," said Yang May-sing, a spokeswoman for the party. "This is the first time that the issue has come up, and people are sensitive to it. But we think we can do better next year."

Analyzing the party's poor showing, Miss Yang cited an institutional tilt in Taiwan toward the Kuomintang, including a tendency by the three Government-controlled television networks to support Kuomintang positions. She also asserted that there had been vote buying by Kuomintang candidates.

Vote buying is a long tradition here, even though officials formally condemn it and there are rewards for turning in anyone who tries to buy a vote. Typically, a campaign worker offers $10 to $30 in expectation of a vote of thanks. In rural areas, farmers are sometimes made to swear on a statue of Buddha that they will vote for the candidate who provides the money. All Parties Buy Votes

Local journalists and neutral officials say that while candidates of all parties buy votes, the Kuomintang perhaps does more of it because it has more money.

Parris H. Chang, a political science professor from Pennsylvania State University who is visiting here, said the opposition would have to do some soul searching about its strong backing for independence.

Of the 325 National Assembly candidates who were elected today, 254 were from the Kuomintang and 66 from the Democratic Progressive Party. Five were independent or non-aligned. Including 78 members who were elected in 1986 and who also will participate in the constitutional conference, the Kuomintang will have 79 percent of the seats. That will give it the three-quarters control it needs to approve a revised constitution. Fewer Mainlanders

In a sign of the generational transition under way in Taiwan, less than 22 percent of the new legislators are originally from the Chinese mainland. In contrast, politics for most of the last 40 years -- ever since 1949, when Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek fled with the Kuomintang to Taiwan after his defeat by the Communists -- have been dominated by mainlanders.

The Kuomintang has threatened in recent months to disband the Democratic Progressive Party for supporting independence, which is nominally illegal. However, a government spoksesman gave no hint today whether the ruling party's election victory would make such a crackdown more or less likely.

Miss Yang, the opposition spokeswoman, said that the Democratic Progressives were not very worried about this possibility and that they could quickly reorganize even if they were disbanded.